Trending News: Lakers Legend Kobe Bryant Will Hang Up His Sneakers At The End Of This Season

Why Is This Important?

Long Story Short

After a shockingly awful start to the season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant has decided to pull the plug on a legendary career at the end of the 2015-2016 season.

Long Story

It’s been a rough year for the superstar everyone simply knows as Kobe. The Lakers legend has shot poorly and his team’s 2-14 record (second worst in the NBA) has shown it. But instead of riding out a few more crappy years to keep the cheques coming in as other NBA legends have done (Hakeem Olajuwon on the Toronto Raptors comes to mind), Kobe has called it quits at the first sign of bad play. And he’s done it in style.

On Sunday afternoon following a loss to the Indiana Pacers at the Staples Center, Kobe took to the podium to announce his retirement.

He also simultaneously released a poem on The Players’ Tribune expressing his lifelong love for the game of basketball.

“Dear Basketball,” the poem begins.

“From the moment
I started rolling my dad’s tube socks
And shooting imaginary
Game-winning shots
In the Great Western Forum
I knew one thing was real:

I fell in love with you.”

Obviously with a career like Kobe's — 5-time NBA champion, MVP, 17-time All-Star etc. — there's been an outpouring of support on social media for the Black Mamba, who'll certainly be getting plenty of standing ovations throughout the rest of this season.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question: Where do you slot Kobe in the NBA best-all-time list?

Disrupt Your Feed: If Kobe knows he's done and is playing so poorly, why doesn't he just quit right now rather than play out the entire season?

Drop This Fact: In a time when so many players move teams for money or the chance at winning a ring, Kobe Bryant has been the definition of loyal as this year he set the record for most seasons started with a single NBA franchise.